Love it, "crutch"

With regard to the engine colors & bow thrusters, great feedback guys especially from those w/ experience & I welcome it.

Keep in mind I was "QUOTING" when I used the word "Crutch"
Ultimately I know it can be a useful resource no matter how experienced one might be w/ winds, tides & or currents.
I negotiated 10hrs of 1 on 1 in water training w/ the One & Only Terry Sobo, I'm just not confident he's aware of this.

I do agree with the name NASTEC!!

Congrats on the new Nor-Tech. They must be awesome to be replacing your Skater.

Michael,
Forget a bow thruster and do the Mercury Joystick. You will get an Autopilot with it too! Been on some it is way better.

Ron,

I inquired about the Joystick since you got way more bang for the buck in comparison to the cost of just a thruster BUT Nor-Tech doesn't offer it as an option, it's not on their price sheet & I even inquired. I believe Nor-Tech is a PRO Mercury boat builder but maybe the confidence in the system installed on boats that run upwards of 60mph w/o a tie bar isn't. I've heard a similar tune from others builder as well. I have ZERO experience & have only been on one boat during a sea trial that had it.

Have experience with Axius in a buddy's old 350 SS Formula. The joystick takes a certain touch and some experience to use it with some level of finesse You are not just going to grab it and spot the boat on a dime in any conditions. The autopilot is a nice feature. The Skyhook feature, while cool in theory, is pretty worthless unless you want to hear drives banging in and out of gear every couple seconds. Just seemed dangerous to me in any situation you might want to use it. The lack of a tie bar was a concern over the long haul in terms of gimbal life (obviously does not apply to outboards). The 340 Nor-Tech with twins and the thruster is more manuverable over the 350 SS with Axius.

I experienced the Skyhook during the sea trial I was on, it certainly worked but I agree the in & out of gear was annoying as were the fumes which I understand would be situation specific based on conditions.

This might be a dumb question but why would a 34' boat really need bow thrusters? Does it have to do with the design of the CC and how it acts around the docks?

At the Miami Boat Show I brought that question up to one of the Mercury Reps that was at the In water part of the show. Is the Joy Stick compatible with boats that travel in excess of 65 Mph? He looked confused and then said it should be ok. After a couple more minutes of small talk I then asked him at what speed would you recommend the need for a Tie Bar on the motors. He said anything over 60MPH !!! Too say the least I left CONFUSED.